Americans Have Never Been Fatter… and It’s Getting Worse

June 10, 2016

Two recent reports from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) show that efforts to encourage Americans to lose weight aren’t working.

In one study of more than 5,400 adults, the results show that 33% of US adults are overweight, and 38% of US adults are obese. Breaking the data down a bit further, the report writes that “the age-adjusted prevalence of obesity in 2013-2014 was 35% among men, and 40.4% among women.” Additionally, more than 5% of men and nearly 10% of women came in morbidly obese.

For adults, people are considered overweight when their body mass index reaches 25, obese when it hits 30, and morbidly obese when it reaches 40.

As an example, someone who is 5-foot-5 and weighs 149 pounds has a body mass index of 24, which is considered a healthy weight according to NBC News. If a pound is added, and that same person has a BMI of 25, the person is considered overweight. At 180 pounds that individual would have a BMI of 30 and would be considered obese.

In a second study done on children and teens, the results showed that 17% are obese and 5.8% were extremely obese. Obesity in kids is measured a little bit differently, it’s how heavy they are compared to other kids the same age and height – those weighing more than 95% of kids the same age are considered obese.

People who are obese have higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s disease, however despite a lot of effort and millions of dollars spent, there is not much evidence the epidemic is diminishing.

It’s not clear why obesity continues to worsen, despite many studies trying to put a finger on it.

“Numerous foundations, industries, professional societies, and governmental agencies have provided hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to support basic science research in obesity, clinical trials and observational studies, development of new drugs and devices, and hospital and community programs to help stem the tide of the obesity epidemic,” the journal’s editors, Dr. Jody Zylke and Dr. Howard Bauchner, wrote in a commentary.

“The obesity epidemic in the United States is now 3 decades old, and huge investments have been made in research, clinical care, and development of various programs to counteract obesity. However, few data suggest the epidemic is diminishing,” they added.

“Perhaps it is time for an entirely different approach, one that emphasizes collaboration with the food and restaurant industries that are in part responsible for putting food on dinner tables.”

Not only is it not diminishing, the Trust for America’s Health projects that 44% of Americans will be obese by 2030, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projects 42% of adults will be.

From a financial perspective, a Gallup and Healthways study shows that 34% of obese adults were more likely to suffer financially than non-obese adults.

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It appears as though Americans could use some time away from smart phones and video games, and redirect their efforts to a gym. Obesity is also a prime example of the fact that throwing money at a problem does not necessarily make the problem go away.